Poetry: Sonnets, Pentameters and Tears

Doing things a little different this week, I thought I would leave you with a little taste from one of my recent projects. A few years ago, I published my first ebook, and it is called “There Shall Come No More Tears.” This is a poetry book. Not just any poetry, but specifically, a books of sonnets.

If you are familiar with sonnets, you will know they are comprised of fourteen lines with a specific pattern. A sonnet will contain four sections called quatrains. The first three quatrains have four lines and the last quatrain has two lines. There is a specific rhyme scheme, too, that a sonnet follows. This is known as iambic pentameter.

Just to familiarize you with sonnets a little more, ideally, the structure of iambic pentameter will adhere to ten syllables in each line, The rhyme scheme will looking like this:

Quatrain 1: ABAB

Quatrain 2: CDCD

Quatrain 3: EFEF

Quatrain 4: GG

The word “sonnet” derives from the Latin word “sonetto” which simply means, “a little song” or “a little sound”. There are basically, two rhyme scheme models. The first one is the original, Petrarchan. He was a famous Italian poet. The rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet is different than the Shakespearean, which happens to be the second model of sonnets.

I myself have no problem finding rhymes in English. You might be able to say the same. But did you know that English is actually considered to be a rhyme-poor language? Shakespeare, who loved the challenge of writing sonnets, found a better rhyme scheme for English, which is the one broken down above.

Most of my sonnets will follow this rhyme scheme.

Today there is a revival of poetry, including sonnets. I am happy that more poets are on the rise and that there is a modern twist to the spoken word, which has become quite trendy and a real art form I have gained an appreciation for. Before the age of Internet, Television and the phonograph, even before the age of the printing press, there were poets. Poets were celebrities back in the day.

A recent project of mine has been to edit my ebook and format a 2nd Edition. Here is a little taster of “There Will Come No More Tears”. It is a little book of sonnets, around 60, carrying the reader through a wave of emotions. The following sample is the first sonnet in the book. I hope you enjoy it!

I can tell you that while writing the many sonnets of this book, and for some time after, I could not stop hearing and speaking in iambic pentameter! Tell me if it isn’t contagious! Of course, you will need to be reading quite a few sonnets for iambic pentameter to settle in. You can buy the book at Writeious Books if you are interested in taking an emotive journey of sonnets.

sonnet of tears

Soft rain bless the air while tears cleanse my soul.When the new day dawns it will bring forth green.Green and things fresh and clean. Then maybe thingsBothering me today will not appear

This bad tomorrow. Tomorrow shed light.What I feel today seems it must be right.But maybe my choices were not this bad.One is unable to take back things said.

What was said is locked inside my head.Self-control for sweet love of God is good.To think of these things is better than good.Things pleasant and pure and strong and worthy.

Tomorrow will come and it will surelyBe fulfilled with all the rain of today.

Written by Jori Sams

Jori Sams is a Christian author and freelance writer with nearly 2000 published pieces on the Internet, with over 1500 being published by Yahoo. Her books are published through Writeious Books. When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her following the sun…